Sixty years in California : a history of events and life in California; personal, political and military, under the Mexican regime; during the quasi-military government of the territory by the United States, and after the admission of the state into the union, being a compilation by a witness of the events described

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  Sixty years in California : a history of events and life in California; personal, political and military, under the Mexican regime; during the quasi-military government of the territory by the United States, and after the admission of the state into the union, being a compilation by a witness of the events described

  Rare Books

  William Heath Davis (1822-1909) was the son of a Boston ship captain engaged in the Hawaiian trade and a Polynesian mother. After visiting California twice on trading voyages that took him all around South and North America, he settled in Monterey to work with his merchant uncle in 1838. In 1845 he settled permanently in San Francisco, becoming one of the city's leading merchants. His marriage to María de Jesus Estudillo tied him to the Hispanic community in his adopted region. Davis loved the easy life of the Californios, the descendants of the Mexicans who had arrived in Alta California in the late 1770s. He found them the happiest and most contented people he had ever known. Davis managed to meet almost every prominent man and woman who lived in or passed through California. He was one of the founders of New Town (now downtown San Diego). He served on San Francisco's first city council; he built San Francisco's first brick building and cofounded San Leandro.

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  Seventy-five years in California : a history of events and life in California : personal, political and military ; under the Mexican regime ; during the quasi-military government of the territory by the United States, and after the admission of the state to the union : being a compilation by a witness of the events described ; a reissue and enlarged illustrated edition of "Sixty years in California", to which much new matter by its author has been added which he contemplated publishing under the present title at the time of his death ; edited and with an historical foreword and index by Douglas S. Watson--

  Rare Books

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  William A. Pinkerton letter to G. Lambert, Secretary, Mexican International Investment Company of San Francisco, California

  Manuscripts

  Letter stating that William Pinkerton is in receipt of the prospectus of the Guadalajara concession of the Mexican International Investment Company and that he would purchase 50 shares of the company for a total of five thousand dollars. Lambert is to notify him at his Chicago business address when he is ready for the first payment. Pinkerton expresses that he wanted to buy more stock, but it had been a "dull year." Letter is on Pinkerton National Detective Agency letterhead.

  mssHM 35184

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  John Heath letters to William Heath Davis

  Manuscripts

  Two letters written to William Heath Davis, Jr., to New York publishing agent John Heath regarding Davis's work Sixty years in California (1889). In the first letter, dated July 6, 1889 (HM 77911), Heath replies to Davis's stated intention to visit New York and have his work "in the market" there. Heath advises Davis to talk to him before making any publishing agreements, and offers to put Davis in touch with references verifying Heath's character and credentials. The second letter, dated August 8, 1889 (HM 77912), contains Heath's reply to Davis's inquiry for ways to improve his book, which he plans to "revise & enlarge." Although Heath had not yet seen a copy of the work, he advised Davis to make it as "attractive and interesting as possible." He speculates that the greatest interest in California existed among residents of the "eastern and middle states," since he believed that emigrants from Eastern states made up most of California's population. He suggests that these readers would be more "inclined and willing to believe" Davis's statements on current conditions in California since he was not a "land grabber, nor an Emigrant Solicitor." Heath concludes by suggesting that might be able to meet with Davis should the latter visit New York. Also included with the letter are two envelopes that appear to have come from other letters.

  mssHM 77911-77912

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  William Heath Davis papers

  Manuscripts

  The collection consists of 634 items, from 1843 to 1906; it includes manuscripts, letters, documents, receipts and newspaper clippings related to the life and business activities of William Heath Davis. Subject matter includes shipping and commerce in California before and after the Gold Rush; business firms in San Francisco and Honolulu; and land titles, with particular emphasis on Rancho San Leandro. The collection also includes manuscripts and source materials relating to Davis's memoirs. Additionally, there are items related to California and San Francisco history; various California pioneers; mining; shipping; land titles commerce; and the social manners and customs of early California residents.

  mssDA

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  Some events of the life of Levi Mathers Savage [microform] : c.1876-1935

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of Levi Mathers Savage's autobiography, begun in 1876 and finished shortly before his death in 1935. Savage opens with a brief history of the Mormon Church, and recounts his childhood in Holden, Round Valley, Kanab, and Toquerville, Utah. He particularly writes of his father's stock business and Indian raids around Long Valley. In 1871 he went to Salt Lake City to attend Morgan's Commercial College, which he left when he was called home by his ill father. He writes of being called to help colonize southern Arizona, but when the mission was delayed he worked on William W. Taylor's saw mill in Salt Lake City instead. Savage writes of the books he read during this time and of the "great financial crisis" of 1873 that prevented him from receiving his wages. He writes of taking a school at Coalville in 1874, and of a trip to Michigan to visit his mother's relatives (this section contains extensive genealogy on the Mathers family). He writes of finally starting on the Arizona mission in 1876 and of serving with Lot Smith's United Order at Yavapai. By 1878 he was teaching school in Sunset, Arizona. Savage writes of the completion of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad and accompanying telegraph lines in 1882 and of concurrent difficulties with the Apache Indians. In 1883 he began teaching school in Woodruff, Arizona, but by 1885 polygamy charges had forced him to flee to Chihuahua, Mexico. He helped settle Diaz and writes of an earthquake there on May 8, 1887. By 1891 he had returned to Woodruff, but in 1900 his first wife Sarah "Marintha" Wright had taken him to court with adultery charges (he had subsequently married plural wives Lydia "Nora" Hatch and Hannah Adeline Hatch). He was arrested and taken to Prescott, and he and Sarah ultimately divorced in 1901 (Savage mentions the difficult relations he had with his and Sarah's children). Much of the rest of the volume through 1919 covers Savage's life in Woodruff, including extensive notes on births, deaths, marriages, confirmations, blessings, and missions, as well as covering a 1902-1903 diphtheria outbreak and problems with the Woodruff Dam. Savage was released as Bishop of the Woodruff Ward in 1919 and writes of moving to Salt Lake City. He worked in the temple there and the volume includes various lists of endowments. He recalls a 1925-1926 trip to California, and most of the rest of the volume revolves around his family life in Salt Lake. Savage's final illness and death are noted in entries made by his wife Nora in 1935.

  MSS MFilm 00116